Mark your calendars: The Georgetown Wooden Boat Show (GWBS), celebrating its 34th year, will take place the third weekend in October.

Held on the waterfront and along Front Street in historic Georgetown, this popular event features one of the Southeast’s best wooden boat exhibits, with more than 100 classic wooden boats, ranging from kayaks to yachts, displayed. 

First begun to celebrate the area’s maritime history and improve business in downtown Georgetown, the GWBS is produced by the nonprofit Harbor Historical Association, with all proceeds benefiting the S.C. Maritime Museum.

To kick off the weekend, an auction will be held Friday night, affectionately known as the Goat Island Yacht Club Regatta. The auction features live and silent auction items, food from local restaurants, music, and entertainment. 

More than 20,000 people are expected to attend the two-day boat show, notes Cabell Williams, with the Museum.

There will be 40 vendors selling maritime-themed art, crafts, housewares and more. A children’s area will feature model boat painting, with the kids then racing them in a pond. Knot-tying demos and competitions are also on tap. 

In addition to the restaurants, food options will include traditional perloo prepared by the sheriff's office, hot dogs, and other offerings. 
 
“Also on Saturday, we host a timed boat-building competition that culminates in a race across the river. Teams of two will compete to build a rowing skiff within a 4-hour time limit and then test their boats for seaworthiness in a rowing relay on the Sampit River. This year's first-place prize is $2,000!” Williams says.
  
Sunday marks the corrugated cardboard boat-making competition that also ends with a not-quite-so serious race across the river. 

Georgetown Wooden Boat Show
Free to attend
October 21-22, Saturday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.; 
Sunday, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Waterfront and Front Street
(843) 520-0111 | Woodenboatshow.com